In general, a wide application area can be found for smart cards, depending on the specific embodiments. Smart cards, or else chip cards or integrated circuit cards (ICC), can have an integrated chip module. In daily use, smart cards can be subjected correspondingly to mechanical loads, with the result that they should preferably be robust in respect of mechanical loads. Primarily, a chip module (or a chip), which can be arranged in a smart card housing, can be destroyed or damaged in the event of the occurrence of mechanical loads, with the result that the functionality of the smart card can be impaired or suppressed, for example.